The Committee of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe reaffirmed on Friday, during its meeting in Chisinau (Moldova), its “unwavering support” for Ukraine by signing an Expanded Partial Agreement on the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
This agreement, according to the Council of Europe’s website, “represents a crucial step towards the practical establishment of the tribunal responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and judging those who bear the greatest responsibility” for the aggression against Ukraine.
Thirty-four countries (*), out of the 46 that make up this body, and the European Union expressed during the meeting their intention to adhere to the agreement and to define the operation and funding of the Special Tribunal.
Spain, represented by the Secretary of State for the European Union, Fernando Sampedro, is among the countries that expressed their intention to adhere to the agreement. In the press release published on the website of the Ministry led by Jose Manuel Albares, it emphasizes its “strong support for the accountability mechanisms of the Council of Europe to ensure that the crime of aggression against Ukraine does not go unpunished.”
The ministers also welcomed the widespread support from States for the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine and encouraged other countries to join, so that a compensation mechanism can be quickly established.
The ministers of the Council of Europe reaffirmed their determination to ensure the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, even within the framework of executing the July 2025 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands against the Russian Federation.
In addition, they intend to continue contributing to Ukraine’s reform program, particularly through the Action Plan for Ukraine, “Resilience, Recovery, and Reconstruction 2023-2026,” facilitating the country’s progress towards EU membership, including in the areas of fundamental rights, justice, social protection, and inclusion, as well as in relation to the fight against corruption.
On another note, the Committee of Ministers also adopted a declaration on the European Convention on Human Rights and migration, modernized the Convention regarding money laundering, investigation, seizure, and confiscation of the proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism, and greenlit a new legal instrument on the manipulation and interference of foreign information.
(*) The thirty-four member states of the Council of Europe that adhere to the initiative are: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.